The American Century of Humiliation

What defines the current geopolitical environment is not the rise of a new world hegemon but

the erosion of the old one. As the international order transitions into the "post-Pax

Americana" era, the Western alliance faces a historiographical crisis. This essay argues that

the United States, and consequently its European allies, are about to enter a phase known as

"Hegemonic Humiliation," characterized by a growing prestige gap between a state's

self-image as a global arbiter and its declining material ability to enforce that image. To do

so, we will compare the current crisis of the West with the case studies of the Desastre del ’98

in Spain and the 1956 Suez Crisis in the United Kingdom, and identify the structural

indicators of the transition from hegemony to secondary status.

The Desastre del ’98 in Spain represents an important historical moment for understanding

the effects of the decline of a former great power. In 1898, Spain’s loss of its overseas

colonies, a direct result of the Spanish-American War, was not a territorial readjustment but

the destruction of its national self-image, which it had fought years to uphold. The

humiliation Spain faced after being evicted from the “Club of Great Powers” resonated

through Spanish society for years.

Statistically, the loss in 1898 was absolute. The loss of Spain’s colonial revenue, which had

been sustaining the monarchy’s illusion of glory, led to a rise of intellectuals known as the

Generación del ‘98. These intellectuals, including Miguel de Umanumo and José Ortega,

argued that Spain’s obsession with its imperial past had led to a pathological nostalgia. They

described it as a state that continued to act as an empire while its domestic infrastructure was

collapsing. Spain’s humiliation was an "inward turn" as it had to stop relying on other countries it had

colonized for resources and focus on what it had in the mainland.

This essay argues that the contemporary United States is facing the same identity crisis as the

Spanish Empire after the Desastre del ’98.

Unlike the Spanish case, which represents the existential loss of land and resources, the

United Kingdom’s experience in 1956 emphasizes the loss of independent agency. When the

UK, alongside France and Israel, attempted to reclaim the Suez Canal from the Egyptian

President Nasser, it was not the Egyptian military that prevented them, but their own ally: the

United States. President Dwight D. Eisenhower threatened to collapse the British Pound and

block a vital $1 billion IMF loan, which proved that Britain was no longer a sovereign global

actor. British foreign policy had to be rewritten with the realization that, despite being a

nation that controlled nearly 25% of the world’s landmass in 1920, it became secondary to

states such as the USSR and the US (and had to focus on the domestic economy instead of

global market domination).This historical event reveals the issues with a security umbrella provided by a hegemon. The humiliation of Suez made Britain realize that its foreign policy couldn’t diverge from

Washington’s interests anymore, and when analyzing US policy towards Europe today, we

notice similar patterns.

The United States is currently facing the same pathologies that claimed its predecessors. In

the 1960s, the U.S. accounted for roughly 40% of global GDP, while today it is

aprproximately 24%. Simultaneously, the rise of the BRICS+ states, which now account for

37% of global GDP in Purchasing Power Parity terms, signals the end of the unipolar

financial era. This can be seen as “Imperial Overstretch”, a term coined by historian Paul

Kennedy, which describes how the cost of maintaining global military and diplomatic

commitments exceeds the economic base required to support them. In the case of America,

we can see its “Humiliation” as the loss of the dollar's ability to be a weapon of statecraft, as

is seen with the “de-dollarization” efforts in Asia and the Middle East. These efforts are the

modern equivalent of Spain’s 1898 naval defeats. This is dangerous for the EU as it is too integrated into the American system to leave; however, it is becoming too vulnerable to stay as the US turns predatory. This is a result of the US no longer pursuing its effort to achieve a global order that benefits the West as a

whole, but rather imposing strict tariffs to sustain its own domestic survival.

The end of Western exceptionalism and the return to a multipolar global order is marked by

the "American Century of Humiliation". History has shown that when a hegemon falls, it

does not disappear but becomes normalized. Spain and Britain both found their new roles in

the global order: Spain as one of the most popular tourist destinations and the UK as a global

financial core, but only after they accepted their status as secondary powers. The end of Pax

Americana is an immediate caution for reform. The EU will have to become more

independent from the declining power and start building structural autonomy in defence,

energy, and technology. Humiliation is only a permanent state for those who refuse to

acknowledge that the world has moved on.

About the Author

Laura Altomare is a freshman at the American University of Rome who is majoring in International Relations with a minor in Economics. She  intends to focus her studies on the Middle East and possess a unique perspective as an Italian citizen who spent a majority of their life in Abu Dhabi.

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